Mighty Rearranger

CS-Cart.com
In the weeks leading up to this album's release, Robert Plant was the unlikely hit at the South By Southwest music festival, delivering such a scorching set with his band the Strange Sensation rockers a quarter of his age simply got back on their planes and went home without playing a note. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that, unlike most his classic rock peers, Plant has rarely settled since moving on from the Led Zeppelin behemoth. Over the course of eight solo albums, he's experimented with doo-wop, synth-pop and even drum'n' bass. But it's only at 56 that the Golden God is hitting his stride. On "Tin Pan Valley," he sings, "My peers may flirt with cabaret/ Some fake the rebel yell/ Me, I'm moving up higher ground/ I must escape their hell." Mighty Rearranger draws out the best qualities of his otherworldly voice, surrounding it with rich Middle Eastern textures, soft blues accents and gorgeous psychedelic swooshes. It's in keeping with the spirit of 2002's exotic and lush Dreamland, only it sounds more refined. The quiet bits are quieter and the loud bits are timely reminders that Plant was once a man possessed by a dozen dead wolverines. He's not kidding when on "Shine It All Around," he sings, "These are the days of my life/ Bright, strong and golden." --Aidin Vaziri